Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Eriodictyon capitatum (Lompoc yerba santa) and Deinandra increscens ssp. villosa (Gaviota tarplant)

Zusammenfassung

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for Eriodictyon capitatum (Lompoc yerba santa) and Deinandra increscens ssp. villosa [= Hemizonia increscens ssp. villosa] (Gaviota tarplant). Approximately 6,519 hectares (ha) (16,110 acres (ac)) in Santa Barbara County, California, are within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. Critical habitat identifies specific areas, both occupied and unoccupied, that are essential to the conservation of a listed species and that may require special management considerations or protection. Section 7(a)(2) of the Act requires that each Federal agency shall, in consultation with and with the assistance of the Service, insure that any action authorized, funded or carried out by such agency is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of an endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. Section 4 of the Act requires us to consider economic and other relevant impacts of specifying any particular area as critical habitat.We solicited data and comments from the public on all as